Tea with the PMbonus for winners
All of this year’s Hutt City Youth Award winners will enjoy afternoon tea with Prime Minister John Key, as well as their $500 prize money.
In a video message shown at the September 21 ceremony at Weltec in Petone, filmed by Hutt Valley-based National list MP Chris Bishop, Key congratulated the winners of the eight sections and said he was looking forward to meeting them at parliament. Last year just the leadership winner met the prime minister.
The winner of the Label and Litho Hutt City Youth Award for Leadership this year was Soe Sola of Naenae. The 17-year-old Naenae College head girl leads the homework centre and volunteered with Students Against Drink Driving and the school’s prospectus design group.
Although two of nominees for The Goodtime Music Academy Hutt City Youth Award for The Arts were overseas, it didn’t stop Julian Dennison of Naenae being named the winner of the section.
The 13-year-old was in London promoting his movie, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which has broken New Zealand box office records.
Percussionist Jeremy Richardson of central Lower Hutt, 21, was in France to perform for New Zealand’s centenary commemoration for the Battle of the Somme.
The winner of the Westpac Hutt City Youth Award for Overcoming Adversity was Rakshana Chandrasiri of Waiwhetu. The 18-year-old had developed a career in banking and entrepreneurship despite having arrived in New Zealand as a refugee with limited English and education just four years ago.
Joel Alheit of Avalon was the winner of the Hodge Group Hutt City Youth Award for Entrepreneurship. Joel, 17, had established his own stock photography and design business, through which he employed and trained young peers who contributed photography. He also volunteered at Taita Clubhouse, teaching Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to intermediate-aged students in his spare time.
Another 17-year-old won the WelTec Hutt City Youth Award for Service to the Community. Michaela Judson of Waterloo won for her service as a St John Cadet, during which she has been selected as the District Cadet of the Year, has achieved Grand Prior status, taught first aid to children, and logged more than 200 hours of community service with retirement homes and charities such as Te Omanga Hospice.
She also represented New Zealand at a St John Youth event in Hong Kong, at which she won every event she competed in.
To huge cheers Rachael Rickard of Taita was named the winner of the Youth Infusion Hutt City Youth Award for Embracing Diversity.
The 17-year-old had created an event where people of different backgrounds could come together for mutual support during a time of grief.
Lucy Chen of Waterloo had wanted to change her school friends’ views on engineering so created engineering events at Chilton Saint James School and a local theatre. Lucy, 17, won the GNS Science Hutt City Youth Award for Science and Technology.
A referee won the Hutt News Hutt City Youth Award for Contribution to Sport. Apart from refereeing games with the Petone Rugby Club, Rory Woollett of Alicetown, 14, also sets up and packs away fields and changing rooms, supervises children while their parents are engaged in club activities, helps run club school holiday programmes and registration and prizegiving.